Getting the Most from the Nexus 7

Another very useful app is called ES File Explorer. This is the best
way to handle the storage limitations on the Nexus 7, and it doesn't
involve a cloud. This app lets you transfer to any sharable device with
a hard drive on your home network. For me, that would be my 2TB network
hard drive.

Figure 8. Choosing a Folder Using the ES File Explorer

Figure 9. Choice of Views

Basic photo editing is achieved by choosing a photo in the gallery and
touching the choice icon in the upper-right corner.

Figure 10. Picture Editing on the Nexus 7

If you need to print, any of the Android apps for the major printer manufacturers
will work, but it needs to be a network printer. Epson Iprint for Android
worked for me and my Epson Workforce 630. It also will print documents
and pictures stored on clouds, like Google Drive.

The Nexus 7 is a Wi-Fi-only device; however, it is possible to connect
to the Internet by tethering the Nexus 7 to your Android phone via
Bluetooth by pairing them and checking the box on the phone to allow
Internet tethering. My experience with doing this is acceptable, but the
Bluetooth Internet speed is knocked down to about 400kbps—even when
the phone is getting 4G service that's more than triple that speed. That
said, it will get you on the Net when Wi-Fi isn't available. In fact, any
smartphone that allows Bluetooth tethering to share the phone's Internet
connection will work with the Nexus 7. The one step you need to do to
make this work is to activate the Bluetooth visibility from both the
Nexus 7 and the phone, prior to pairing.

You can transfer files to
and from the Nexus 7 and your smartphone via Bluetooth as well. Another
way to transfer files, playlists or anything on your browser is by means
of NFC (Near Field Communication). Only a few devices other than the
Nexus 7 have this, such as the Samsung Galaxy 3 phones. All you do is tap
the tops of the two devices to transfer, and you'll be the envy of anyone
with an iPhone.

Now, let's talk about consumption. Much has been made about the lack of
Flash support for all Android versions after 4.0. This affects the Nexus
7, which, as everyone should know by now, runs Jellybean 4.1. This is not as
big of a problem as some might think. Some major video content sites like
CNN and CNET do still stream only Flash from their Web sites. What some
folks don't know is that these and other Flash-only Web sites have much
or all of the same content on their YouTube channels in HTML5 that the
Nexus 7 will play. In time (I'll predict less than a year), all major
video content sites will stream HTML5—it is the future, Flash is not.

I bought my Nexus 7 with the optional gray neoprene case. As you can see in
Figure 11,
the front flap doubles well on most surfaces as a kickstand for viewing.

Maybe you're like me and enjoy recording HD TV programs using Freevo
and a Hauppauge HD PVR connected to a cable box to store on your network
drive. Using the ES File Explorer app I mentioned earlier, the Nexus 7
will play it. The video I record from the HDPVR is MPEG-4 in a .m2ts
container, which the Nexus 7 doesn't recognize. The trick is to hold
your finger on the file icon until it asks you what type of file it is
(choose video), then choose the player. With a good Wi-Fi signal, the
Nexus 7 will stream that 1080i video.

Figure 12. Nexus 7 Videoplayer

Books and games? Google Play has you covered here too. Games look and
play better and smoother than on just about any other Android device,
thanks to the Tegra 3 processor.

Figure 13. Playing Shadow Gun on the Nexus 7

As an e-reader, it excels as well, with ample choices of font size,
background type and intensity, and the pages flip easily.

The point I want to make here is that the Nexus 7 is as full-featured as you want it
to be. You just need to find the right app, which is usually if not always found
at the Google Play store. As my final exclamation point, this entire
article was written, composed and published on my Nexus 7, using Google
Docs within the Google Drive app. It also does spreadsheets. My thumbs
that I typed with feel fine, and my eyeballs are firmly connected to my
eye sockets—no tactile hallucinations to speak of, from using my Nexus 7.

You can, only if you root the Nexus 7, which voids the warranty. You can however, transfer files via home wifi, using the ES File Manager app on the Nexus 7 that I wrote about in the article. If you don't have a wifi home network, you could also transfer files using the Google Drive (the Google Cloud)for free, using a Google Gmail login. Of course, if you don't mind voiding your warranty and know what you're doing, go ahead and root it.

I use the Hauppauge HD PVR 1212. This version is no longer sold by Hauppauge, I believe they stopped selling it last year. You can probably still find one on E Bay, Amazon or Newegg new or used. The newer version is aimed at gamers who want to record their game play. It also is not compatible with Linux. Here's a link to the article I wrote for Ubuntu User on how to use the 1212 with Freevo....

'[...] it is possible to connect to the Internet by tethering the Nexus 7 to your Android phone via Bluetooth by pairing them and checking the box on the phone to allow Internet tethering. My experience with doing this is acceptable, but the Bluetooth Internet speed is knocked down to about 400kbps'

You'd be better off tethering via WiFi then such limitations won't come into play.

You are correct. However, not everyone has a device that can provide a hotspot or if you're like me, don't think it's worth the extra cost from my service provider to have this option. Bluetooth tethering is the only option if you can't tether to a wifi hotspot device.

I'm pretty happy this product has hit the market. I already have a bunch of people asking for it.. Customer tomorrow for it.. I just don't think stock will be available long as these things come out, there isn't anybody thinking before they launch, and they run short every time.

I wish they were able to figure out how the cases are supposed to be so we could get them in advance. I blow thru thousands of cases for new products and gadgets, and I haven't figured out the manufacturers yet. They can't seem to work with each other to actually have enough stock for the whole world ahead of time!

Nice one... Nexus 7 is value for money for sure eventhough i prefer low budget tablets from china. A good one solution is ainol novo 7.
I liked the andromedia application thanks for your review now it will be one of my favourites.

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